[1] A long time collaborator of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords,[2] he appears in their live shows as a string section of one, 'The New Zealand Sympathy Orchestra' playing cello, and also bass, keyboards, percussion, drums and singing backing vocals.
[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Collins graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1999 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting).
[10][11] He was a founding member of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra (also featuring Bret McKenzie), recording and touring with the band in New Zealand, the UK and Australia from 2006 - 2013[12][13][14][15] and generating a series of best-selling EPs.
Other music collaborations include cello on Ed Sheeran's I See Fire, Fat Freddies Drop's Based On a True Story,[20] Age Pryor's City Chorus[21] and David Yetton's (The Stereo Bus) Blow out your candles.
[22] His play Wheeler's Luck, co-written with actor Toby Leach and director Damon Andrews, was performed by Collins and Leach in New Zealand, the UK and Australia between 2004 and 2007,[23][24] and has since become a staple of the New Zealand high school drama and youth theatre curriculum, with 50 schools mounting productions of the piece.